Sex Education Season 3 Review: Growing Pains

Sex Education Season 3 shows us the growing pains of not only being a teenager, but being a person of any age having interpersonal relationships. The series itself also shows some growing pains as it is not the strongest among the three seasons it has put out.

Following two successful seasons (of which I gave two glowing reviews: Season 1 and Season 2) and a delay due to the pandemic, Sex Education Season 3’s much anticipated arrival is here, and like its characters, it is overwhelmed.

The fabulous ensemble cast headed by Asa Butterfield, Gillian Anderson, Emma Mackey, and Ncuti Gatwa, has grown and, simply put, there is just too much story, especially for a mere 8 episodes. It would’ve been beneficial to have a longer season, and it is disappointing that there was no foresight to accommodate for it.

In fact, the truncated length is my main criticism because Sex Education excels in almost all other aspects.

Messing up and making mistakes is one of the most difficult parts of being human, but it also allows for growth. Sex Education Season 3 demonstrates this many times over, allowing its characters to make mistakes, take responsibility, and change for the better. 

Seasons 1 and 2 were filled with practical, real life sex and relationship advice, and Season 3 is no different. Therapy is helpful, it is brave to admit vulnerability, and it’s never too late to apologize, are just a few of the sage pieces of wisdom the show imparts to its audience.

And just like in life, many of these lessons are learned through trial and error. 

Note: This review contains spoilers for Sex Education Season 3.

Trust No One

Matters of trust come up in many of the storylines, showing how the levels of trust can fluctuate in relationships. Jean (Anderson) and Jakob (Mikael Persbrandt), Otis (Butterfield) and Ruby (Mimi Keene), Eric (Gatwa) and Adam (Connor Swindells), and Maeve (Mackey) and everyone in her life all go through struggles with trust.

Jakob contends with his trust issues following Jean’s admission of kissing her ex-husband and their subsequent break-up that occurred in Season 2, which brings up some painful memories of his late wife. Ruby finally allows someone to get close to her and experiences the heartbreak that can come with it.

Eric and Adam’s honeymoon phase shifts to the more complex stage where they both unintentionally hurt each other. People continue to disappoint Maeve, but she learns to care about those in her life and let them care for her by putting trust in herself and others, knowing that sometimes conflict and pain are inevitable.

These are just some of the instances where lack of trust causes issues in relationships. It seems as though almost every person in Moordale is going through it. Other smaller storylines address it, too. Olivia’s boyfriend pressures her to not use a condom during sex. Viv (Chinenye Ezeudu) puts too much blind faith in the new head headmaster, Hope Haddon, played by Jemima Kirke in an inspired casting choice. 

Of all the problems these couples and friendships face, it is when two people cannot get on the same page that hits the hardest. Some relationships just aren’t meant to be, but coming to that realization can be a long and bumpy road. 

Jean and Jakob’s is perhaps the (baby) bumpiest. Their break-up on Season 2 was difficult to stomach, especially once Jean found out she was pregnant. On Season 3, they try to reconcile their chemistry and genuine love for each other with their glaring incompatibilities.  

Jakob admits to Jean that he cannot trust her and Jean finds some of his beliefs to be highly worrisome. For one, he tells her, Dr. Jean Milburn, sex and relationship therapist, that he doesn’t believe in therapy, following a session in couple’s therapy.

How can any relationship move forward with these two giant hurdles in the way?

The strains in their relationship do not stop at affecting just the two of them. Otis and Ola (Patrica Allison) have to adjust (again) to a new family dynamic. It certainly doesn’t help that Otis and Ola used to date—that history does not transition into a civil, sibling-like rapport very well.

When the two families merge, moving into Jean’s house, Ola’s grief over her mother resurfaces, causing her to lash out, particularly to Jean, and be a bit insensitive with her girlfriend, Lily (Tanya Reynolds). In turn, Lily is oblivious to Ola’s pain, and the usually tight couple experiences their own problems.

Many of the plots are connected in this way—emotions from one relationship begetting conflict in another and so forth—and it is interesting to see similar rifts handled in wildly different manners. 

Cheat Sheet

There’s a lot of cheating (by way of kissing) going on this season.

Jean’s kiss with Remi on Season 2 carries over to Season 3, being one of the biggest points of contention between her and Jakob. Eric kisses someone else while in Nigeria for a family wedding. Maeve starts up with Isaac (George Robinson) and then (finally!) shares a kiss with Otis.

Admitting infidelity is so hard but necessary if one cares about the relationship. Most of the time, the kiss is impulsive and deemed a mistake, like Jean’s, but sometimes it can lead one to face feelings they may not know are there.

As is the case with Eric. Adam’s continuing struggle with his own queerness begins to wear on Eric who is at a very different place as a gay man who has been out for some time. Adam’s growth has been made in leaps and bounds since Season 1, but there have been setbacks, too.

It becomes something that Eric just doesn’t want to expend the emotional energy to deal with anymore. That is a fair conclusion to come to, but not fair in the way he arrives at that conclusion. When you mess up, the best way to handle it is to own up to it and apologize.

And Eric does that, coming clean as gently as he can and being honest with how he is feeling. It’s going to hurt Adam no matter what, but it’s really the only way to be respectful of their relationship and for them to move forward, even if it is apart. Adam has grown so much that we know he’ll be okay and survive this heartbreak.

The Truth Is Out There

Trust in relationships is something to build upon, and in doing so, being truthful is the most important building block. Not only being truthful with others, but with one’s self.

Trusting another person is scary because you have no control over how they handle your trust. It means you feel safe and secure being yourself around them so when that trust is broken it can feel nothing short of devastating.

Lily’s story arc this season has some similarities to Eric’s arc on Season 1. Something awful happens that dims their beautiful light. Hope publicly shames Cal (Dua Saleh), Adam, and Lily at a student assembly, and that deepens Lily’s hurt over Ola’s dismissal of her passions. 

Lily: I was happy not having any friends. And then you came along and made me feel like I wasn’t so strange after all. But it was just a lie. You told me not to submit my story because you said it was weird, and then you judged me.

It is heartbreaking to watch her clear her room of the things that made her happy and for her to resign herself to normalcy.

Acting on advice from Jean, Lily’s mum (Sophie Thompson), tries to connect with her daughter on her interests. Then a classmate asks Lily to autograph her story. Thankfully, Lily is able to find that light within her again and shine it outward, which leads to her and Ola making up.

I Want To Believe

It’s a happy ending for Lily and Ola, but not all stories on Sex Education Season 3 get the same. Some are hastily addressed like Layla’s struggle with their nonbinary identity. And some plots get more time and attention than they might warrant, such as Mr. Groff’s character development arc throughout the season.

Panic sets in on Episode 7 as I realize that there is no way to satisfyingly wrap up each story in the final two episodes. Cliffhangers and last-minute reveals are fine and dandy if there is an adequate sense of a “for now” ending. Many threads feel rushed, incomplete, or abandoned all together while the first half of the season looks bulky and sluggish in comparison and hindsight.

Thusly, this review itself is fragmentary. The show has trouble maintaining the sheer volume of story involving so many characters, and unfortunately, any single review of the season simply cannot cover it all.

Every plot is worth taking a look at, though—they each provide entertainment, well-crafted performances, and life lessons. I am putting my trust in Sex Education that it will learn from its mistakes and come back stronger than ever in Season 4, which I’m sure we can all agree absolutely needs to happen.

Stray Observations:

• Some storylines that actually hurt me not to touch on include Aimee going to therapy for the sexual assault that happened on Season 2, Ruby’s arc, the Jackson/Cal journey, and the many portrayals of parent/child relationships.
• “Virginity is a construct.”
• This rendition of Peaches’ “F**k The Pain Away” is epic.
• “It’s my poo” has “It’s my vagina” energy.
• I am thrilled to see Hannah Waddingham back as Jackson’s mum!
• Drugged up Jean is a delight! “I am the King. The King of Everything.”
• Jean and Maeve still haven’t met and that is unacceptable. 
• Also unacceptable is the absence of Ruthie. Her unimpressed looks and disdainful glares are sorely missed. 
• Goat, the porn-eating lesbian goat is a fantastic addition to the show.
• They name the baby Joy! It’s perfect and gets me right in the feels.

What did you think of Sex Education Season 3? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Sex Education Seasons 1-3 are currently streaming on Netflix. 

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